SOME people use tablets. Some prefer laptops. Microsoft's latest creation targets users with a foot in both camps, perhaps leaning to the laptop.

The Surface Pro is the software giant's second tablet computer, but this model is designed with a lot more power, significantly more storage, a stylus for flexibility and even faster connections.

It's designed to more closely mimic a laptop and stand in for one when you don't want a 3kg gadget hanging from a shoulder.

Despite its overhaul, the Surface Pro at least looks a lot like its Surface RT sibling. It features the same rugged, black, VaporMg casing, the flip-out stand that keeps it upright on a desk, and cameras front and back.

It's a slick and solidly built unit and also compatible with the same accessories as Microsoft's cheaper tablet, such as the colourful, flat Touch Cover keyboard and the more traditional Type Cover.

There is one definitive way to tell the Pro from the RT: pick it up. The more powerful model also requires more lifting power, at 907g compared to 680g. It's also thicker, with a 1.35cm profile, and, as a result, feels more like a laptop.

Mercifully, it has a laptop's power inside its 10.6-inch shell. This tablet uses a third-generation Intel Core i5 processor and 4GB RAM, making it a match for many Ultrabooks.

Microsoft has also increased its storage, with 64GB and 128GB versions available. In practice, this extra hardware makes the Surface Pro faster and more reliable. Even with enough programs open to fill three layers of screen real estate, the Pro did not pause to think. It also delivered heavy-hitting Microsoft Office programs, such as Access, Publisher and Excel, quicker than some fully featured PCs. The Surface Pro also uses the 64-bit version of Windows 8, letting users install advanced programs.

To accommodate this, there is also the stylus. Handwriting is possible in apps including One Note and Word, and the Pro also adds a USB 3.0 port for speedier data transfers.

Despite its advances, the Surface Pro still lacks its own mobile internet connection - a strange omission.

Its weight and size also make it more laptop than tablet and harder to justify as a true hybrid.

As a small laptop, the Pro excels. Highly mobile Windows 8 fans should appreciate its slick app delivery, slender form and connections.

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